BRIDGEPORT — As the facilities project manager for the U.S. Postal Service, Robert Giulietti recommended contractors, approved bids and authorized payments.
He also lined his pockets with nearly $1 million in bribes and USPS contracts he funneled to MGC, LLC, a company he created.
On Friday, Giulietti’s actions landed him in federal prison for 42 months beginning July 23. But the former postal official not only lost his freedom but his home at 8 South Pine Circle in Cheshire, $740,517 in cash and a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox. He surrendered it all as restitution to the U.S. Postal Service and the Internal Revenue Service. He also owes the IRS about $291,026 in back taxes, penalties and interest by failing to report the additional illegitimate income.
In February, Giulietti, 57, of Woodbridge, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, bribery and making false statements on a federal tax return. He is represented by Chris Duby, who served as chief of staff for former Mayor Joseph Ganim, whose own career was ruined by bribery and kickback convictions.
“The prosecution of corrupt public employees is a top priority of this office,” said U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly. “The defendant not only accepted bribes and defrauded the U.S. Postal Service… but he cheated on his taxes as well.”
Giulietti was the USPS Northeast area facilities architect-engineer-construction project manager working out of Windsor.
In that post, he oversaw the bidding for a $1.2 million roof replacement on the main post office on Middle Street here as well as million dollar contracts involving the replacement of cooling equipment at the main post offices in New Haven and Hartford.
“I destroyed my life and reputation,” Giulietti told U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in a voice choked with emotion. “I hurt the people I most care about. Instead of being able to help them, my actions have left them on their own.”
Several of Giulietti’s former neighbors spoke of how he would help them on construction projects and invite them to pool parties.
His uncle, Dominic, told the judge how Giulietti never forgave himself for helping a brother get a job with the railroad where he too was working at the time only to have the sibling killed in an accident.
“Robert always worked hard, 12-16 hours a day,” the uncle said. “He succumbed to temptation and broke the law.”
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Francis said “this is not a case about a person who made a mistake. Mr. Giulietti was a public official who accepted bribes on more than one occasion, diverted over $1 million into his pocket, cheated on taxes four times and awarded 150 contracts to his company…150 times he made a bad decision.”
“Thus it is hard to credit the defense’s assertion that Giulietti was a fundamentally honest or good man,” the prosecutor told the judge.
Francis said Giulietti often assessed the bids of legitimate contractors and used it to formulate lower bids for MGC, LLC. He then hired subcontractors to do the work.
Duby said that Giulietti’s intention in creating MGC, LLC, was to get on the list of USPS-approved contractors during the final years of his employment.
“Then upon his retirement he would have a company already on the books with the USPS which he could go work for in his post-retirement years,” the lawyer said.
Duby admitted his client took over $800,000 from the USPS and failed to report this money on his federal tax returns.
In attempting to explain why this happened, Duby said his client earned only $89,500 “far less than that which would ever afford three private school college tuitions (for his three daughters) as well as the other bills that saddle any middle class American family.”
via USPS facilities manager sent to federal prison – Connecticut Post.